The board’s 11 members serve at the pleasure of the governor, and are charged with setting and enforcing air pollution rules and regulations for the state. Sawyer, a professor emeritus of energy at the University of California, Berkeley, had been at the helm full-time for 18 months.

“He’s probably the most credible man that I’ve ever met,” Hill said. “I find him to be extremely intelligent, courageous, with the highest integrity and with a tremendous knowledge of air quality.”

Initial reports were unclear as to whether Sawyer had resigned or been fired, but he cleared the air (no pun intended) on that one in the Los Angeles Times today:

“I was fired, I did not resign… The entire issue is the independence of the board, and that’s why I got fired,” Sawyer told the Times. “I have board members going all the way back to [Gov. Pete] Wilson’s time, and they tell me they have never seen such a level of interference as is occurring at this time.”

Lewis is the producer of the Disney-Pixar film Ratatouille, released in theaters nationwide today. San Carlos, according to a proclamation, is “simmering with enthusiasm” over its local connection to the cinematic masterpiece. Lewis, the proclamation made by Mayor Tom Davids further exclaims, “has been basting this movie to perfection as the producer of Ratatouille for the past five years, folding in layers of talent and handfuls of creativity.” Tasty!

The animated movie features a country rat named Remy (above) who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris despite the fact that he is, well, vermin. Finding himself beneath the famed Gusteau’s restaurant, Remy befriends the garbage boy, Luinguini, and the two set out to show the French culinary world how to really make a souffle.

Eshoo is one of three dozen members of Congress from California and Oregon who signed a letter Wednesday calling for a Congressional investigation into Cheney’s role in the 2002 diversion of water from the Klamath River Basin. The diversion preceded the largest commercial salmon fishing disaster in U.S. history and devastated commercial and recreational fishing in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties.

“This smells as bad as 80,000 dead salmon,” Eshoo said in a statement. “Those who depend on salmon for their livelihood, including many of my constituents, deserve to know exactly what the Vice President did to implement a water policy that circumvented the Endangered Species Act and devastated commercial, sport and tribal fishing in California and Oregon.”

“With a new superintendent soon to be hired and possibly two new members joining the school board, the next few years presents a unique opportunity to strengthen the district for the benefit of our students and the entire community,” Pine said Wednesday in a statement announcing his candidacy.

Pine said that, if elected, his first priorities will be improving the district’s fiscal health and making sure its construction projects are managed properly.

Not that there was any independent, scientifically-based judging here, but residents earned points towards “greenest city” status by taking a pledge to “live a greener lifestyle,” signing up for Yahoo! Answers, and downloading Yahoo! oneSearch – a Web interface for mobile phones – to look-up eco-friendly terms.

The grand prize was $250,000 for environmental projects or a fleet of yellow hybrid taxis emblazoned with the Yahoo! logo. At one point San Carlos was in second place, behind a 0.2-square-mile town with a population of 100 in South Carolina.

But when all was said and done, San Carlos placed third. Their consolation prize from Yahoo! was 5,000 compact florescent light bulbs, 500 of which were delivered on Monday. Residents of all ages, as we reported and you can see below, clamored for bulbs at the initial giveaway.

Burlingame School District Superintendent Sonny Da Marto had the teacher who swooped in and rescued the district’s nascent Spanish-language immersion program write up a bio for parents and others interested in learning more about her.

The military may feel that homosexuals aren’t worthy of its ranks, but U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, doesn’t think that should stop any other government agency – and the U.S. Department of State in particular – from taking advantage of the human capital.

In a letter sent to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte today, Lantos called for the State Department to address its need for diplomats with foreign language skills by tapping the pool of soldiers dismissed from the military because of their sexual orientation under its “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

Though there were plenty of heartfelt revelations provided by Delgado to warm the cockles (such as, “If I had the chance to switch places with those people, then I would,”) something that the young woman said – accused by prosecutors of racing another vehicle moments prior to the crash, while weaving in and out of traffic between 85 and 100 mph – got us to wondering.

“I’m still scared,” she said. “I don’t even want to think about driving for some time.”

The Insider knows that, legally, any pimply 13-year-old or, for that matter, anyone with a license revoked as a result of DUI charges is free to think about driving as much as they want to. But can they drive – like, legally? We think not.

So, what about Delgado? Now that she’s out of jail, might we be seeing her whizzing past us on Highway 101 anytime soon?

(Question: If you’re fighting allegations that you don’t live at your home in San Francisco, why would you turn yourself in to police in Burlingame, where you’ve admitted to living at least part-time?)

It may be nearly a month before any paperwork can be filed to declare candidacy, but rumors are already flying in San Carlos over who might be mulling a run for City Council to fill what the Insider has now confirmed is an open seat.

Mayor Tom Davids, who has been on the Council for 12 years, told the Insider today that this year will be his last. Davids’ four-year term is up in November.

“I plan to retire,” said Davids, who will turn 70 this year. “I’ve told a few people, but you can shout it to the rooftops.”

Davids (pictured here) has no grandiose retirement plans to speak of. He’ll be around, he said.

“I just think it’s time to move on and let somebody else have a shot at it,” Davids said. “That empty seat is very attractive. The occupied seat is more difficult. Hopefully this will inspire some interest and get some new people into the game.”